Tag: Edenbrooke

Last year when I was recovering from a traumatic case of sepsis that nearly killed me (DRAMA!), all I wanted to do was to escape into romance novel after romance novel. This last weekend, while recovering from a root canal retreatment that resulted in bouts of vomiting and gums that were so painful and inflamed by the bacteria’s “last stand” that I kind of wished I could die for a few days, I retreated into romance novels again. (See a pattern?)

So, in honor of that, and of St. Valentine’s Day, I pulled out that romance novel list I gathered from my friends last year, and I’m reposting it here for everyone’s reading pleasure. Some of them I have read, and some of them are still on my reading list. If you have any suggestions of your own, do please comment below.

First and foremost I have to mention the author Georgette Heyer. If you have never read one of her romances, then there is definitely something missing from your life. She is SO GOOD at relationship development and at witty dialogue and at creating characters that you just want to hang out with for hours and hours. She’s also probably the next best thing to Jane Austen that I’ve ever read. You could dive into almost any of hers and be happy, but here’s a list of some of mine and my friends’ favorites: The Grand Sophy, These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub (Sequel to These Old Shades), The Nonesuch, Cotillion, The Talisman Ring, Sylvester; or The Wicked Uncle, Frederica, Friday’s Child, and so many more.

These is My Words, by Nancy Turner looks so interesting and is at the top of my reading list.

Another friend suggested anything by Courtney Milan, though I admit that some of the anachronisms in the period piece I tried out got to my romance-nerd brain and I had to stop reading. I don’t remember the name of that book, but if anyone has a favorite of hers they want to share, do.

Another one that looked super interesting to me but that I haven’t had a chance to read yet is Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen. My friend said about it, “It is seriously addictive with amazing characters an interesting romance and even though I have read it several times I love it each time. The romance is beautifully balanced with other character development.”

Did you know that Princess Diana’s grandmother was a romance novelist? Well, she was, and she has an enormous list of books to her name. Most of them are pretty cheap on Kindle. Check out Barbara Cartland.

One of my friends who loves Sarah M Eden also enjoyed Donna Hatch’s novels, though I have not looked into her yet. Also, Jennifer Moore and Elizabeth Johns. (If you’ve read any of these authors, I’d love to hear what you think of them. They’re still on my list.)

Several of my friends suggestedEdenbrookeby Julianne Donaldson, and I have to say I found it entirely charming. I also like her other book, Blackmoore.

Another friend suggested Honoluluby Alan Brennert, saying that “It is not really a romance, but it is a wonderful novel about a Korean mail order bride. As I was finishing the last few pages I began to cry, because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Jade, the main character.” How could you not be interested?

“I cannot speak enough good about the Glamour series. Premise? Regency + magic. Written by Mary Robinette Kowal. It’s amazing. I love the characters and they go through REAL LIFE. these books are so enjoyable that after checking them out of the library often enough I started to buy them. I even bought the last book BEFORE it came out. I never do that. It starts with Shades of Milk and Honey. That’s her first novel. Each one gets exponentially cooler.” – I agree wholeheartedly. Mary Robinette Kowal is awesome. Word on the streets is that her Ghost Talkers, set in WWII, is also really good.

The Last Unicorn, I think by Peter S. Beagle. “The language, the story, the characters, the message–LOVED IT. *sigh*”

And last, but not least, The Princess Bride! I sometimes forget to think of it as a romance since it is clearly at its core a satire, but it’s great for romance too!